It’s difficult for me to determine how I felt about this movie. On one hand it’s essentially a 90 minute commercial for Lego and all Warner Bros. products and characters in the least subtle display since Space Jam. On the other hand, Chris Miller and Phil Lord managed to inject a genuinely good-natured and positive message that a lot of kids could benefit from, having seen this.
So it’s propaganda, but really good propaganda.
And I find myself struggling with whether or not to give this film a pass because of how smooth it is in masking its true intentions. Even if Lord and Miller had goals that were opposite of WB and Lego, that doesn’t change the fact that this movie is ultimately nothing more than a (to quote Joel Schumacher) ‘toyetic’ creation, entirely based around generating revenue for Lego.
Purely from a filmmaking perspective, The Lego Movie is fine. It’s a good kids’ flick and one that adults can enjoy (which is so rare nowadays in this recent 'soft’ entertainment environment). I give credit to Phil Lord and Chris Miller, but that’s all.
***/****
Publication: June 6th, 2014